Yesterday’s ruling by a U.S. District Court Judge that the Port of Long Beach’s Clean Trucks Program is lawful and should move forward was a surprise to everyone – not because the judge was expected to rule in favor of the American Trucking Association (ATA), which filed the lawsuit, but because the ruling was supposed to have come today.
Instead, Port officials and Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster rushed to announce their victory yesterday – the mayor himself even sent out an e-mail announcement. An impromptu press conference was organized in front of the Port administration building just after the ruling.
“This allows us to do the most important thing on our agenda: banning dirty trucks,” said Jim Hankla, President of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners.
“This is a very good day for Long Beach, and indeed all citizens of Southern California who breathe this air,” said Mayor Foster, calling the decision “a significant event.”
“The air’s going to be cleaner, and we’ll still have the great economic impact from the port.”
The Program remains on schedule and will go into effect October 1.
The lawsuit filed by the ATA stems from economic issues. The Clean Trucks Program aims to clean local air by ridding the ports of trucks made before 1988, which pollute more heavily than newer vehicles. Each year for the next five years, the standards for truck cleanliness will be raised until 2012, when all trucks must meet 2007 environmental guidelines or they will not be allowed admittance.
The ATA’s beef is that contracted truck drivers who are not employed by trucking companies will be forced to abandon the trucks they own and pay out of pocket for the cleaner trucks – an economic hardship that the ATA says tarnishes the goal of the Clean Trucks Program. The courts disagreed, though the ATA will be able to appeal to the 9th Circuit Appellate Court if they wish.
“We’re prepared to deal with it if it’s overturned on an appeal,” said Mayor Foster, though he would not discuss strategy any further.
Some have worried that banning pre-1988 trucks from doing business with the Port will significantly diminish the number of drivers operating, to the point that business will slow.
“Delays are a concern,” Hankla said. “If we can get everyone working together we can certainly eliminate that as a possibility.” He added that a shortage is not likely, and that he suspects many drivers were simply awaiting the court’s decision before deciding whether or not to sign to the Port’s plan. Hankla estimates that more than 16,000 drivers have signed up to participate in the Clean Trucks Program, and that 2.500 dirty trucks will be eliminated when the plan goes into effect on Oct. 1.
The court decision was also closely monitored by ports across the nation as they seek to rid themselves of polluted air caused by decades of operation. Hankla suspects that West Coasts ports will be soon to follow suit, with Oakland likely to produce a similar plan in the near future.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
Disclosure: The Port of Long Beach is an advertiser of the lbpost.com